To Build Our Lives
by Tomomori
Summary: When the turtles need to get by without Master Splinter, they don't seem to cope well with the changes. While they try to solve their problems in their own ways, Mikey saves a young girl from a gang. After the first clashes a friendship is formed, which may turn out to be the chance of a better life not only to them but to the whole mutant family.
1. Chapter 0

Disclaimer: Sadly, I do not own the turtles or the other characters of the universe, only my OCs.

* * *

Darkness.

Clouded sky.

Cold.

Chilly wind.

A city which never calms, never quiets.

Sounds.

People, laughter, shouting, angry voices.

Cars, sirens.

Lights. Colorful, happy.

Snow.

A black figure racing across empty rooftops.

Alone.

Not cold.

No sound.

Silence.

Close out, don't listen.

Shadows.

Speed.

Run.

Fast, have to run. Don't stop.

…

Tears.

Hate.

Hidden.

Pain.

…

Don't stop.

Run.

Fall.

Hurt.

Stand up.

Close out, don't feel.

Run.

* * *

Sorry if this chapter didn't make sense, I originally meant this as a view of the feelings of the later chapters. The next one will start the story itself.


	2. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: No, I still don't own them. And that probably won't change until this story's over. I only own Miu.

* * *

"I'm gunna kill ya, ya damn little...!"

"But you have to catch me first, my dear bro!"

"Do you think this will end soon?"

"Seriously? It never ends soon. You should know them better than that. I don't care though, as long as they stay clear of my lab. I still have a lot to do."

"I don't think we should leave them like this... Raph tends to lose it way too much recently."

"He won't kill him, let them be. Maybe Mikey will learn something if he gets caught."

"Said the pacifist. Wow."

"Whatever, just don't bother me till practice."

Leonardo sighed as he watched his genius brother disappear into his lab sipping his fresh coffee, then turned back to the other two currently racing around in the lair.

Raph really seemed scary. No wonder though, of course Mikey couldn't sit still and had to pull a prank on his hot-headed brother. Switching the red-masked turtle's lunch with cat food was obviously a bad idea. Sometimes it was dangerous to let Mikey cook. They never knew when would he put something "funny" in the food.

Leo didn't really understand why can't his youngest sibling grow up and stop pranking them. All this just showed how much unused energy he had, and the leader wished he turned that energy to improve his skills. He wasn't nearly satisfied with the orange-banded ninja's performance while training. He was starting to lose his patience toward him and he thought more and more about how he should snap his little brother out of his childish, naive nature. Shooting one last disapproving look towards his brothers, he headed back to the dojo.

During all this, Michelangelo ran for his very life. Okay, maybe not, but definitely for his beautiful face. He knew it very well from experience, that if Raph managed to catch him, it wouldn't end nicely. Raph was always dangerous. He lost his head, like, waaaaay too often. True, when he snapped out of it, he would always feel bad for the damage he caused, but that didn't mean he wouldn't go mad again. This was the other reason the turtle with the orange bandana didn't let his older brother get his hands on him. Raph tended to berate himself harshly after he hurt his brothers. He was very close to Leo on that scale. Mikey once caught his hot-headed sibling beating himself up by repeatedly hitting and crashing into a wall in the dojo after he almost broke Mikey's arm. The red-banded turtle broke both his fists, his right shoulder, cracked three ribs and got himself bruises all over his body. He didn't even want to stop when the youngest dragged him away from the wall. Donnie fixed him up, and Mikey spent the whole night with his brother, protecting Raph from himself. That was years ago.

Lastly, it was still much better to direct Raphael's anger at himself than let him explode on Leo. Like, you don't want your brothers to bathe each other in their own blood. Lately it was nearing that point, too. Their bickering was getting scarier and scarier, seeing them almost unsheathe their weapons to launch at the other.

Whenever it got that far, Mikey had to intervene and he managed to stop the fights most of the time, just to see his oldest brothers disappear somewhere sulking. The youngest didn't say a thing but it was really hard.

For most of the time he was just playing tag until his brother gave up, that's what he planned for today, too. Sadly, Raph wasn't going to let it slide this time.

Mikey suddenly felt something very hard hit his head. The attack came so unexpected that he tripped and fell head-first to the floor. While descending, he flashed a look at the thing thrown at him. Sure enough, it was some EXTREMELY THICK book with a title only Donnie would be able to decipher. Mike was sure it was more than 400 pages. _Nice one leaving that out for Raph, Donnie._ He only had time to turn onto his carapace as Raph landed squarely on his chest with his full weight. Mikey gritted his teeth, feeling his ribs creaking painfully, almost ready to break and all air was knocked out of him right away. He raised his hands in front of his head just in time to protect it from the other's fury. The angry turtle didn't really look where he landed his stone-hard punches - some slipped past the youngest's defense and crashed into his face, and the pounding of fists echoed through the little brother's empty lungs.

Mikey started to panic. So yeah, introduced to a damn heavy book and not the kind way, not being able to breathe and your body turning into a mass of pain, you can't exactly relax, right?

Suddenly the punches ceased and Raph got off him. Mike took the chance to haul in as much air as he could, this resulting in a coughing fit while his brother looked at him darkly.

"That's wha' ya get fer makin' me mad! Don't even think abou' bein' near me fer the next two days to say the least, shell-fer-brains!" With that, the dark green figure stormed away, into the garage.

Mikey still drew in ragged breaths when he stood up, glad that he got away with just a few bruises. He picked up the sneaky book and checked it: 575 pages. Jackpot! _Geez, Don, next time make sure you leave out something bigger 'cause I only had a small concussion from this one._ Putting it on the table he decided to watch some TV before afternoon practice, which Leo would surely not let anyone skip. So much for not being near Raph. With a deep sigh he dropped onto the couch and reached for the remote control.

By the time the oldest called them to train, he was already grinning like an idiot again. Raph has already cooled off a bit and Mikey noticed looks of concern flashed towards him when his brother thought he wouldn't notice. Though when his smile was as bright as ever, the red-masked brother seemed to calm down. Mikey knew Leo and Donnie also noticed his injuries but he didn't let them worry about him. He concentrated on training instead.

Leo has been driving them hard ever since Master Splinter left, taking over morning practices and making them train every afternoon too. That, however, wasn't the worst thing that Leo decided - the worst was that they were forbidden to leave the sewers AT ALL. That took its toll on all of them and Raph always got in a fight with Fearless because he went out nonetheless. After some time, Leo let Donnie go up a few times for things he would use because the second youngest once blew up at him, that he will go crazy if he can't do anything. That's just how much he needs his work. Yeah, well, Donnie's officially a workaholic.

When Leo let them go, Mikey didn't have the slightest idea what was happening for a few moments, in which he was grabbed by his purple-clad brother, dragged into his lab and pushed into a chair. Then, without a single word, the smart turtle carefully checked him over and tended to his injuries. Mikey knew it was useless to protest, NO ONE could escape Doc Don's hands if he decided to patch you up. After his older brother was done with him, Mike smiled widely and thanked him. The bo wielder just nodded his head and then the youngest left the room. It went like this for a while now. Mikey knew that Donnie did care, even if his favorite genius didn't want to admit it.

* * *

It was the first week of November, the air was getting cooler every day. That day it was almost chilly. The sky was covered by dark grey clouds. A black shadow was slicing through the darkness over New York City.

Mikey loved being topside. It didn't matter if it was cold or warm, not even if it rained. He didn't care that they couldn't be seen so they had to stick to the shadows. He loved the sky. He loved looking at the city and the people living their lives. He loved running and jumping around on rooftops. He loved being free.

From time to time he stopped to catch his breath and look at the life deep under him. It was still early but everything was already all about Christmas. It made Mike smile. He loved Christmas too. For a few days, people were less angry, they seemed to get more understanding and kind. Even down in the lair, the atmosphere changed during Christmas. His brothers were affected by it, too; for a change, Leo and Raph didn't try to kill one another and Donnie left his lab on his own free will. Even Master Splinter let them take it easy around this time of the year and he would tell them old stories about Master Yoshi. Gotta have to skip that one this year.

He was already running again. It was as if he wasn't affected by the cold as he gradually built up speed while dashing. Then, he heard something that made him stop in his tracks. It was a painful and angry shout. Out of instinct he followed the sound, getting to much less crowded parts of New York. Finally, he skidded to a halt across from a dark, short alley.

"Hey, it's old pals' work!" He mumbled to himself slightly grinning while jumping off the roof. Sneaking up on the Purple Dragons he tried to decipher the situation.

Actually, it was quite obvious, as at least a dozen men were advancing on one teenager girl, who seemed more angry than scared, despite she already looked a little beaten up. Two gorillas were holding her arms, successfully keeping her in place and making her much more defenseless. The other guys were standing around them in a circle, while two other Dragon argued with each other in front of the girl about who should be next. _So they are taking turns._ Mikey thought angrily. _How heroic. Bastards._

"My, not the gentlemen, are you, dudes?" He shouted as he leapt into action. He was playing around, as this technique was the most effective against street thugs - they just couldn't handle being underestimated. He tried not to leave the shadows too much, not wanting the girl to see him. He learned it fast, that the people they are saving tend to freak out at the sight of giant mutant turtles. This only worked until he noticed a shiny object flash into the corner of his eye: a gun, pointed right at the girl, who, seeing the confusion, decided to get her revenge on the Dragons. She wasn't that much of a threat but she was fierce, which, combined with Mikey's efforts seemed to work out well. However, their luck ran out there, and the ninja leapt out of the shadows without thinking - grabbing the girl, who was closer to him and jumping toward the fire escape and running up it, making it almost impossible to shoot them. The thugs tried, though and Mikey heard a few bullets whistling past his ears. The teen in his arms didn't move an inch, or uttered a word, probably from the shock of being carried by the orange-banded turtle. The ninja was grateful that the youngster didn't scream into his sensitive ears.

In just a few moments time, they were already on the rooftop, where Mikey put the girl down and turned from the living statue to look at the gang trying to climb up after them. The guy with the gun must have run out of ammunition, because he stopped shooting. The ninja saw that it would take them some more time to come after them so he decided to look at the girl more closely. She already took a few steps backwards, doubling the distance between them. She must have been about fifteen or sixteen years old, just a bit shorter than Mikey, with dark brown hair not really long and not really short. Her eyes shined in a bright green color, right now emitting anger, confusion and threat. Mikey shot a smile towards her partly because he liked her strange eradiation and partly to lighten up the mood, because right after he turned back toward the alley to face the winner who arrived on the roof first. The guy swung his bat forward while charging at the turtle, just to be thrown over his opponent's shoulders and say goodbye to his consciousness. Mikey then grabbed him, pulled him to the edge, and threw him off, knowing the guys still down would catch him. With a kick he then sent the upcoming thugs two levels back and turned around to face the girl again.

The teen picked up the ownerless baseball bat and held it out in front of her in a threatening way. Eliminating the chance of Mikey not understanding, she voiced her thoughts:

"Don't come any closer! Who are you? No, scratch that... WHAT are you?"

"What do I look to you?" Michelangelo was amused by the girl's reaction. _She has guts. Pretty cool._ "Can I guess? A giant, talking mutant turtle? Do I win?"

"Am I dreaming? Or hallucinating? There's no such thing as a mutant turtle." The ninja noticed that she was shaking slightly but he couldn't decide whether it was from fear or anger. Or both.

"Well, I like to consider myself as real. Like, who wants to be a hallucination?" Mikey said the second half turning his back to the teen as the Purple Dragons weren't going to give their prey up. He twirled his nunchucks and sent the guys down one after another from the roof, grinning playfully:

"We're talking here, don't you see? Haven't you learned any etiquette?"

After the last member of the gang reached the floor of the alley, Mike watched them leaving, not bothering to register the threats thrown at him. When they disappeared, Mikey faced the girl again before turning back and sitting down at the edge. This was a show of good intentions from him, that he wasn't going to attack the other person.

"Where were we?"

"What do you want? Do you want to hurt me? Or kill me?" The girl let the bat a little lower but not her guard.

"No," Mikey was grinning at the question. "I don't want to do anything to you. But I guess I would say the same if I was a bad guy. But I tell you this: if I really wanted to, I would have done it already. What do you think?"

"All right, I don't care anymore, I'm too tired for this. Real or not, bad guy or not. I'm not in the mood." The youngster walked up and sat down beside him, surprising the turtle. This didn't occur any time before. The girl seemed to have lost all anger and emotion, she just looked ahead with blank eyes. The bat was hanging from her hands, pointing to the dark alley below. A cold wind enveloped them, and Mikey still couldn't get through his confusion. But then, he looked in front of himself too, and asked:

"Long day?"

"Long and tiring. Too many things happened."

Now they were talking as though they knew each other for ages. Somehow, the turtle felt the urge to laugh at the situation but he supressed it. But then, he thought of another question.

"What's your name?" _Should have started with this. Or... should I have?_

"Miu. Before you ask, it's not my real name but I like this much better. What about yours?"

"... Michelangelo."

"Hmm... Is that a nickname too? Strange choice, if you ask me."

"Nope, it's my real name." Mikey smiled. This was turning out quite interesting.

"Wow. Wasn't Michelangelo some artist from long ago?" Miu asked, and they still didn't look at each other. Somehow it felt easier for them.

"Yeah, he's the one. My father named me after him."

"Never heard of anyone who would name their kid after some strange artist. Well, I guess the world is a big place."

"Haha, yeah. Oh, before I forget, what did those guys want from you?" Mikey felt comfortable talking with this girl and he wanted to keep it going almost frantically.

"They didn't bother to tell me. But wasn't it quite obvious?"

"Sorry, stupid question." The turtle wanted to hit himself hard because of this slip up and because he didn't have any other ideas for the topic. After that the two of them stayed there for a couple more minutes before Miu stood up.

"Guess I'll go. It's pretty late."

"Ah, I'll take you home." Answered the ninja getting up as well. Then he noticed the stunned looks the girl gave him, so he explained quickly:

"I mean, those guys were pretty stubborn and they might still be lurking around waiting for you. I could get you home safely."

For a few seconds there was complete silence and Mikey didn't dare to look into Miu's eyes, then a loud sigh made him look up.

"Fine, I'm way too tired anyway. I don't want to run into them again." The turtle perked up and asked for the address, then he lifted Miu into his arms. Before the teen could say anything, he took off, jumping from roof to roof. He could tell that his travel methods shocked the girl. Whenever they flew over a gap, Miu held onto the turtle so hard that she almost choked him, and she squeaked a little when she looked under them. Mikey laughed a bit when Miu's squeeze lessened, and reassured her:

"Don't worry, I'm not gonna drop you. I swear."

It was pretty useless though, so when they arrived, and he put Miu down, the girl sank down to the floor, relieved.

"Thank God, it's earth! Unmoving, steady earth!"

"Sorry. Should I have told you that we were gonna come through rooftops?" Mikey smiled innocently.

"Go die somewhere, please." Miu stood up and lashed out at the ninja but her eyes didn't show any anger.

"Right, but before that I have a favor to ask." The turtle smiled but continued with a serious face. "I'd like you to not to tell anyone about me. Can you promise that?"

"You almost killed me and you're still asking favors? Are you for real?" The girl asked, but Mike's next question broke through her stubbornness.

"Please, Miu. Can I trust you?"

"...Fine. I won't tell anyone. Not as if anybody would believe me. But I won't tell. I promise." She made sure she looked into the turtle's blue eyes, convincing him that she told the truth. Mikey looked grateful for that and gave her a big grin.

"Thanks! Be careful not to get into any more trouble! We probably won't meet again, so..." The orange-masked turtle suddenly felt really alone. "Um, bye."

"Yeah... See you." Miu didn't want to say goodbye either but she didn't say anything about it, just watched Michelangelo get up onto the roof and disappear from view. She walked into the building knowing even if they don't meet again, she won't forget this night for a long time.

* * *

Author's note: Soooo, the first chapter's finally done! Thank you, whoever had read this! Sorry if there were some OOC moments (the second half excluded, that was intentional), it's because I find it hard to work with someone else's characters.

Also, I can't promise that I will update soon or even regularly, but I will keep on writing this, even if it takes years for me to finish. I wanted to tell this to anyone reading, please don't expect so much from me. I'll try, that much I can say.


End file.
